The town was surveyed in January 1915 and originally proclaimed as Thurk on 21 November 1918.[1][3] Its size was reduced on 19 July 1934 and again on 13 July 1939. The name was derived from Thurk Homestead where the word Thurk is itself derived from an aboriginal word tharko that means the mouth.[1][9][10]
The town's name was changed from Thurk to Kingston O.M. on 19 September 1940. The name was derived from the Kingston Village Settlement Area, a settlement which was established in 1896 and whose name is derived from Charles Kingston, the then Premier of South Australia.[1][11][12][13]
The name was altered at the request of residents from Kingston O.M. to Kingston On Murray on 31 March 1994.[1][14] An erratum was published in the South Australian Government Gazette of 24 November 1994 to correct the wrongly used hyphens in the original Notice to Assign.[1][15]
Boundaries for the locality of Kingston on Murray were created on 28 September 2000 and include the sites of the Kingston Ferry Shack Site and the government town of Kingston On Murray.[1][4]
^ abButler, R. (21 November 1918). "TOWN OF THURK"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1117. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
^Ritchie, George (19 July 1934). "AREA OF TOWN OF THURK DIMINISHED"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 73. Retrieved 24 January 2019. Revise the boundaries of the town of Thurk and diminish the area of the said town by resuming the land described in the schedule hereto.
^Playford, T. (13 July 1939). "RECREATION RESERVE"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. pp. 45–46. Retrieved 24 January 2019. Revise the boundaries of the town of Thurk and diminish the area of the said town by resuming the land described in the first schedule hereto.
^O'Loughlin, J.V. (24 September 1896). "KINGSTON VILLAGE ASSOCIATION"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. pp. 757–758. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
^McEwin, A. Lyell (19 September 1940). "ALTERATION OF NAMES OF TOWNS"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. pp. 569–570. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
^Wotton, David (31 March 1994). "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT, 1991 Notice to Assign"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 934. Retrieved 24 January 2019. the Surveyor-General has recommended that the name Kingston-on-Murray be assigned to the town currently identified as Kingston O.M
^"GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT, 1991 Erratum"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1608. Retrieved 24 January 2019. IN Government Gazette of 31 March 1994, page 934, for Kingston-on-Murray read Kingston on Murray (no hyphens).